Their leading rusher, rookie Chris Carson, is on injured reserve. Of the players on their active roster, quarterback Russell Wilson is now the leading rusher with 164 yards. In the Seahawks’ 23-20 overtime victory over the Texans in the last game they played, Wilson ran for 77 yards on 10 carries and hurt them outside the pocket on third down. Wilson needs help from two veteran backs, Eddie Lacy (108 yards) Thomas Rawls (60). The Seahawks have issues in the offensive line. They average 3.9 yards a carry and have two rushing touchdowns. They rank 18th in rushing (108.3). Former Texan Oday Aboushi starts at right guard. Former Aggie Germain Ifedi starts at left tackle. The Texans are 13th in run defense (107.2). If they can contain Wilson, they can control the run.

Quarterback Russell Wilson likes to throw the ball down the field, primarily to Doug Baldwin, who leads the team with 36 catches and 376 yards. He’s smart, gets off the line well and has moves to get open. Tyler Lockett, who comes off the bench, has hummingbird quickness and is elusive when he gets the ball. Paul Richardson, the other starting receiver, leads the team with 16.8 yards per catch and three touchdowns. The Texans have to keep an eye on tight end Jimmy Graham, who’s coming off a poor game against the Giants. The Seahawks are 11th in passing. The Texans are 10th in pass defense. The pass rushers have to get to Wilson. If they don’t sack him, they better rush his throws to disrupt his timing with his receivers.

The Texans are third in rushing with 137.7 yards a game. They have three players – Lamar Miller (372), D’Onta Foreman (207) and Deshaun Watson (202) – with more than 200 yards rushing. The Seahawks, who are tied for first in fewest points (15.7) allowed, have surrendered four touchdowns rushing. Middle linebacker Bobby Wagner is outstanding against the run. The Texans have been using a lot of motion with receivers to try to keep defenses off balance on some running plays. The Seahawks want to contain the Texans inside the tackles and keep Watson from hurting them outside the pocket, where he makes big plays. He averages 7.2 yards per rush. The Texans’ offensive line gets back left tackle Duane Brown, but he’s rusty because he hasn’t played since the New England playoff defeat.

Seattle’s Legion of Boom secondary featuring cornerback Richard Sherman, free safety Earl Thomas and strong safety Kam Chancellor is smart, physical and productive. Seattle is eighth in pass defense and has allowed only five touchdown passes. Deshaun Watson has thrown 15 touchdown passes. Expect the Seahawks to blitz Watson early to see if they can force him to make bad throws. They should come at him from every angle to try to find a weakness. Cleveland tried it early, and he burned the Browns enough to get them to back off. Watson has to find DeAndre Hopkins on short and intermediate routes and try to get the ball to Will Fuller deep down either sideline. He should utilize the middle of the field with Ryan Griffin.